


Dick

by rocket_rach



Series: Praestigiae [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: I would say sorry, also i love Mar'i Grayson but I love Dick and wally so i compromised, but - Freeform, im honestly not sorry, this one made me p sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 07:28:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11179935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocket_rach/pseuds/rocket_rach





	Dick

Dick died, but was brought back the quickest. That didn’t mean a damn thing in the spirit world.

He sat up in the fog, finding himself naked. Dick’s training kicked in automatically and he began scanning his surroundings. There were sounds of moaning people echoing from all over, so he couldn’t gauge the distance between himself and these potential threats (or were they victims?). Dick slowly moved into a crouching position as two voices were clearly audible over the moans.

“Really, I have half a mind to go visit Bruce in his dreams and tell him what. Of all the boys? Dick? Unbelievable. He’s becoming more reckless with age. You would think that he’d start to slow it down,” The woman sighed. “But he’s never been one for doing rational things.”

“Let’s find Dick first. Then we can go visit Bruce.”

“Who’s there!?” Dick called, trying to duck lower in the mist.

“Easy, son. It’s Thomas and Martha.” Thomas called back.

“ _Wayne?!_ ”

“That would be us, yes,” Martha smiled as she approached Dick, who was trying desperately to cover up his nakedness. “Thomas, help the poor boy.”

Thomas swooped down on him like Bruce often did, dropping a tee shirt and some shorts. He winked at Dick, going back to Martha who was looking the other way. Dick quickly dressed, then stood up at looked at the Waynes with a piercing gaze.

“Jason has seen you guys,” He swallowed.

“He has indeed. Jason has a bit of a mouth on him. Can’t say I blame him, though. The streets are rough place for a kid.” Thomas hummed as Martha strode to the boy confidently and wrapped him in a hug.

Dick hugged her back after a beat, his arms wrapping around her. She smelled like lavender and cotton and her embrace was that of a mother. She squeezed him tightly then released him. 

“Let me get a look at you, hm? You’ve grown so much since we first saw you in the manor. You’re still a lean thing though, aren’t you?” Martha fretted, her hands moving to cup his face. “It’s just so surprising. You would think someone with a heart as big as yours would be bigger. But I’m glad. Oh, Dick, it’s _so nice_ to finally meet you. That little girl of yours is simply adorable.”

“That little- Wha-at?” Dick stuttered, his eyes going wide.

“Martha, he doesn’t know about her yet.” Thomas muttered, rubbing his face tiredly. “Sorry, Richard. She’s wanted to meet you for so long. But not this soon.” He added, then frowned as he watched Dick. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Little girl,” he murmured, obviously falling into his thoughts. “Oh, _wait_ . Are you saying that Starfire _was_ pregnant?”

The Waynes looked at each other. 

“Oh, Bruce is going to _kill_ me.” Dick groaned.

“He will not! We’ll make sure of it. Now come, we want to know all about your life.” Martha pinched his cheek gently, earning a small laugh from him. 

“What’s so funny?” Thomas asked.

“My mom used to do the same thing… wait. If you’re here, are… are they here?” He asked, suddenly becoming much more alert in the fog. He looked around for the lean, build of his father through the mist, for the small but muscled frame of his mother by his side. But the mist was too damn thick.

“They are. We’ll lead you to them. Since we’ve been here longer we know our way around. But Dick?” Thomas placed his large hand on his shoulder. “If Bruce somehow manages to bring you back before we get to them, you must know that your parents are so proud of you. They miss you, but you are doing so much good that they’re fixing to burst. Quickly now, if you want to see them.” Thomas began steering Dick through the fog.

Dick began telling the Waynes everything. He told them about his arrival to the manor, how he found out that Bruce was Batman after crashing an interrogation, how he left the mantle of Robin behind and many more. During the more difficult stories Martha would take his hand, squeezing it for support. Dick was so appreciative of that, that he began squeezing her hand back and leaning against her. He began to run out of stories just when he was tackled. Dick hit the ground, then flipped so he had his assailant pinned beneath him.

John Grayson’s laughs boomed beneath him. Dick froze, his father’s face was covered by a huge grin as he gripped at his son’s wrists.

“God, you _are_ as good as they said you were.” He chuckled as Dick released his grip. “I would have thought that you woulda heard me coming. Getting lazy in old age, Dick?”

“Dad…?” Dick whispered, feeling his eyes begin to burn with tears. 

“I leave you two alone for _one minute_ and you end up on the floor. You Grayson boys are nothin’ but trouble. Hiya, Martha, Thomas.” She sighed. Dick whipped his head around, tears running down his cheeks in rivers. He yanked his father up as he stood, then grabbed his mom and pulled them in for as tight of a hug as he could possibly manage. Mary Grayson was all but buzzing as she kissed her son’s face all over. John’s arms crushed them to his chest, feeling his son’s tears soaking into his shirt.

“It’s okay, Dick.” He murmured.

Dick whimpered a response, leaning into his mother’s affections. 

“Hush, my little robin. I missed you so much, baby bird,” Mary crooned, finally tilting her son’s face up. “Oh, you are so grown up. Look at you, Dick. My brave, brave boy.” She began running her hands up and down Dick’s arm, patting his face and beaming as she took in her son. “You’ve come so far, Dick. We are so proud of you – _probably more than Thomas and Martha are of Bruce,_ ” She whispered as Thomas groaned.

“That’s impossible, Mary. No one can beat how proud we are of Bruce.” He grunted back.

“Oh, leave the Graysons alone, Tommy. We’re going to walk for a bit, give you some time with your parents, okay?” Martha linked her arm through her husband’s. Dick nodded, a grateful smile on his face. With that, the Waynes left the Graysons alone.

Dick hugged his mother once more, his head resting on top of hers. He squeezed her tight, finally releasing her when John tapped him on the shoulder.

“What, no hug for pops?” He asked in mock-hurt. 

Dick jumped on him, hugging him just as fiercely. “I missed you two so much.”

“I know, Dick.” 

Dick finally relinquished his grip on his father, then sat down. He felt weak, but he couldn’t tell if that was from finally seeing his parents or just the general feeling of the place. The air was cold and still tinged with the muted moans of the mystery people lying about the mist. His parents sat on either side of him, taking his hands. Dick began talking about his life.

“Bruce… as frustrating as he is at times, he saved me. I owe him so much, you know? Not for picking me up and putting me back on my feet after the… fall; but for also keeping me safe. I still… I still don’t know about calling him dad. I mean,” He looked at John with conflicted eyes. “He’s not you, but he still raised me.”

“Dick, I won’t be offended if you call him Dad. Bruce has been a part of your life much longer than either of us were. But it is your choice in the end if you want to call him dad. At no point, have you disappointed us. You’ve made some poor choices, mainly stalking the batman and bursting into an interrogation – I’ll tell you what, your mother and I just about had a heart attack watching you – but you’ve always managed to turn bad situations into manageable ones.”

“Yikes.” Dick whispered, feeling a fresh wave of tears falling from his face. “I’m glad we’re together. I missed you two.”

“We wished you would have waited longer to reunite with us, but I’m selfish and I missed you, my robin,” Mary placed her head on his shoulder, squeezing his hand. “Now, is there anyone special in your life?”

Dick brought her hand up to his lips, and kissed the back of it softly. “Yeah, there is,” a dreamy looked slid over his eyes. “His name is Wally West. He went by Kid Flash back in our time in Young Justice. He’s great. He’s funny, he’s kind and he’s not afraid to call me out when I’m being dumb.”

Mary hummed happily, squeezing his hand. “If you’re happy, we are happy. Hopefully we’ll meet him in a very long time.”

“… Yeah, a long time,” Dick murmured, remembering what had brought him to this happy moment. He looked at his parents, his eyes filled with sadness. “Wally… I’m going to miss him.”

“It will be worth it in the end, though. We’re glad you’re here, but we wish it would have been later.” John murmured. “Wally will miss you just as much as you missed him. We missed you so much, Dick. You have no idea.” 

Dick jerked suddenly, feeling a sharp twinge in his chest. He looked at his parents with wide, scared eyes. Mary tilted her head to the side, then smiled sadly.

“Bruce is a stubborn man. Dick,” she swallowed, tears appearing in her eyes. “You’re going to do great things. But don’t you dare come back before you’re ninety.”

“Mom?” He asked, feeling another twinge wrack through him. “What’s going on?”

“Bruce is bringing you back. You better go home.” She whispered, leaning in and kissing his forehead. 

“I don’t want to go,” He whimpered, grabbing onto his father fiercely. “Dad… Mom… please.”

John gripped his son’s hand, and squeezed it. “We don’t want you to go either, but you need Bruce, and he needs you. Go save some more people. Tell us more about your life in a couple decades from now, okay? You’re not done flyin’ yet, Richard.”

“I love you, both. So much.” He gasped. Then they were gone. 

Dick shot up, feeling solid. His arms had weight. He could feel Bruce clinging to him, his strong grip all but crushing the flow of blood in his veins. He looked towards his guardian and broke into tears.


End file.
